From the Depths
by Subjockey
Summary: Admiral Nelson visits an old friend aboard an underwater mining vessel when something goes wrong and all communication is lost. Lee rushes back to investigate, but can he solve the mystery in time to save both Harry and the crew of the Sea Turtle?
1. Chapter 1

**From the Depths**

By Subjockey

 **Chapter One**

Captain Lee Crane stood at the Chart Table in the Control Room of the world's most advanced nuclear submarine and the brain child of the famous Admiral Harriman Nelson. The four star admiral had recently acquired the services of the young captain on an all or nothing mission to stop the dangerous quakes threatening to produce disastrous tsunamis across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It hadn't taken the eleven day journey to the Arctic for Admiral Nelson to realize that Lee Crane was the man he wanted to captain the world's first privately owned nuclear submarine, the SSRN _Seaview._ The fact that Crane had sneaked aboard with the dual intent of testing the Boat's security and to royally tick off his new crew hadn't gone over too well, but it did serve to prove that the sometimes ONI Agent was anything but "unimaginative" as Fred Wilson had described. Indeed, his able handling of the Research Vessel with simultaneous missions of National Security was proven in several underwater battles as Seaview evaded both enemy torpedoes and an enemy sub in pursuit.

Admiral Nelson stood at the aft hatch watching his captain with veiled satisfaction as Lee worked the Control Room with ease. In only a few cruises he had managed to step into the very big shoes of Captain John Phillips, Seaview's previous Skipper killed in the line of duty by the ruthless Dr. Gamma and his organization. Phillips was an able sailor, the best there was, Harry often thought; that is until he saw Lee Crane handle Seaview. The crew had come around as well, responding to his strength of leadership, his skill, and his easy going manners. He was tough as nails but inherently fair in judgment; something Seaview's crew recognized and responded to, especially on the voyage back once the danger and intrigue had been neutralized.

Harry put aside his introspective moment and eased forward sidling up to the Chart Table where Captain Crane was currently working alongside Seaview's Executive Officer, Chip Morton.

"How are we looking, Lee?" Harry inquired, his auburn hair a sharp contrast to the European features of the tall dark headed captain.

"Right on schedule, Sir," Lee returned with ease, their professional decorum settling into an easy relationship as they had worked together previously when Lee served under Nelson on the Nautilus. It had been almost a year since he'd signed on as captain, but Lee's respect had grown into high esteem in that relatively short amount of time.

"Good, good," Harry said checking over the charts and position completely out of habit, something that didn't bother Lee in the least as he shot a barely indiscernible smile towards Chip. They were close friends at Annapolis, almost brothers as they roomed together for four years, but had lost close contact when they went their separate ways after commissioning. Except for a few opportunities to catch up from time to time, they hadn't really kept in touch until Lee snuck aboard and royally ticked off Seaview's XO. Professionalism won out, however, as both men were able to balance their friendship with their duties. It wasn't hard to do and Chip was only too pleased that Lee had excelled and advanced to the Captaincy.

"Care to join me on the Observation Deck?" Harry inquired.

"Aye Sir. Steady as she goes Mr. Morton."

"Aye, aye Sir," Chip replied as Harry and Lee slipped past the forward curtains, taking the spiral staircase down to the deck that sported Seaview's windows. Large transparent steel windows graced her bow, built from a secret and patented mixture of high tensile steel, as no glass or plastic manufactured could stand the pressures of the deep; particularly the depths Seaview was tested at. Nonetheless, the Herculite Windows lived up to their name providing a spectacular view of depths as much as 3,400 feet. At least that was the rarely known "on the drawing board" depth that was tested in full a year ago on their Arctic mission to stop the tsunamis that would have carved a devastating path, had they not countered the earthquakes with their nuclear charge. Harry had to smile at the new "unofficial" test depth of 3,400 feet. He knew damn well she could dive deeper; he just wasn't ready to let that one out of the bag just yet.

Lee followed through the forward companion way, then down the spiral stairs to the observation lounge as waves of bubbles pressed against the bow windows; even after a year's worth of voyages the view was still mesmerizing.

"Coffee, Lee?" Harry asked, heading straight for the service table.

"Thank you, Sir," he replied following the Admiral over to make his own coffee.

The two had grown comfortable and were working together like they had been doing so for far longer than a year. Lee found the relationship very satisfying and working under one of the most brilliant minds in history was an extraordinary opportunity, as was commanding a vessel as fine as Seaview.

"Have you considered the corridor Seaview will pass through on our approach to the Sea Turtle's present location? We could surface and drop like a plumb-line instead of navigating the sea mounts' valley?" Harry inquired with little emotion as he stirred the cream in his coffee.

Lee smiled. "It's not that difficult of an approach, barring any unforeseen changes in current, I think Seaview will navigate the trench just fine. The relatively shallow waters of 500 to 700 feet provide a great training opportunity and I think the men are up for the task," he answered easily with no offense taken at the Admiral's suggestion. Once the valley of the sea mounts was navigated their approach opened up to a much deeper valley; in actuality the caldera of an ancient thermal vent that blew itself out in a massive explosion, thereby bypassing the chimney smoker normally associated with mining operations. The depth dropped from 700 feet to 1,500 feet, still well within Seaview's diving capabilities.

"I agree. Seaview is agile, despite her size," Harry replied with a grin, pleased with Lee's confidence.

"Are you looking forward to your visit on the Sea Turtle?" Lee asked casually, picking up a cookie from the plate on the table between them.

"Yes, from many points of view. The mining expedition is interesting, but I'm very excited about the engineering feat of a submersible that large," he explained excitedly. "It was pure genius to tether its fresh oxygen, air filtering system, communications and electricity back up to the mother ship through a cable and tubing system. Of course, the back-up generator can provide emergency power and oxygen, but think of the problems they bypassed by not making the Sea Turtle a self-sustaining biosphere!" Harry added enthusiastically.

"It's basically a Taj Mahal bathysphere," Lee replied with a grin.

Harry grinned back, enjoying his conversation with Seaview's captain.

"That's exactly what she is, though her spherical engineering is far beyond the round ball Beebe and Barton designed almost fifty years ago, the concepts are very much the same," he agreed.

"And the mining activity?" Lee asked with another sip of coffee.

"Well that's what we're here to observe, but the resources of the sea weren't meant to be hidden from mankind to lay fallow beyond our reach," Harry stated passionately. "The key is to retrieve those resources with responsible stewardship. To destroy a viable underwater ecosystem just because the results are unseen by the world is not acceptable. We must be diligent to use the resources while respecting the surrounding ecosystem. It can be done," he replied emphatically. "That's part of what Seaview was designed to do, to unlock not only the beauty and mystery of the sea but her resources as well, with that comes the responsibility of making sure that the seas are protected for generations to come."

Lee nodded and smiled behind his coffee cup; he truly enjoyed the passion of the auburn haired admiral of Irish descent.

"Well it was certainly a serendipitous find to locate an underwater caldera. The mining operations will most certainly be far less invasive with the REEs already scattered across the sea bed," Lee observed, noting that the Rare Earth Element of manganese was an important find used in making stainless steel, and likely to be harvested as well as other possible metals in the sulfide deposits littered across the sea floor after the explosion.

"Yes, here is where the underwater community will test our resolve to mine responsibly," Harry noted. "Thus far, I've been impressed with Deep Sea REE Developers because I sensed their resolve in the matter. Frankly, the wealth of resources here could be staggering," he replied with satisfaction.

"Aye Sir," Lee said finishing his coffee and checking his watch. "Well, I better get back to the Con," he said rising from the table, a move that emphasized their respectful, but relaxed command structure.

"Very well, Lee," the Admiral returned with a nod and a relaxed smile for their pleasant conversation as Lee took the spiral staircase upwards to the Control Room.

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Captain Lee Crane leaned against the chart table watching the forward monitors as well as the depth range as he navigated the sea mounts to their current destination.

"Dead slow," he ordered.

"Dead slow Aye," maneuvering echoed.

"Pretty tight corridor," Lt. Commander Chip Morton noted.

"There's enough room," Lee commented confidently while watching the range finder and simultaneously listening to the active pings of the mountain ranges around them. "There," Lee said with satisfaction as the range opened up to a large valley where the mining survey was currently underway.

"Steady as she goes," he ordered as Seaview cleared the mountains with plenty of room before them. He scanned ahead at the large submersible work station that housed eight miners, upon completion of their survey the entire livable workstation would blow ballast and rise to the surface to be retrieved by the moon pool berth of her mother vessel overhead, Deep Sea 1.

"Sonar, sing out range in one hundred yard increments."

"Aye Sir, range to destination 600 yards," the operator replied as both he and Chip watched the _Sea Turtle_ come into view.

The work-station operated as a platform for the surveying activities at depth as the Turtle operated its ROV to determine the best place to begin operations. The Sea Turtle was well lit and easy to spot in the dark waters, even as sonar announced 500 yards on the approach. Lee watched the forward monitors, picking up the mic at the Chart Table as the sonar man announced two hundred yards. He raised the mic, ready for the announcement he was waiting for.

"One hundred yards," Kowalski said with the rest of the readings being called out in ten yard increments.

"All stop," Lee ordered, issuing Seaview's station for the duration of their mission as the sub was positioned over a boarding hatch, designed well away from the tethers and cables. From this position Seaview would link with the diving bell for transfer of personnel and supplies.

"All stop, aye," maneuvering responded.

Lee clicked the mic again, clearing the line to speak. "Admiral, we're on station, one hundred yards above the Sea Turtle."

"Very well, Captain, I'll be right there."

"Nice maneuvering, Skipper," Chip said across the chart table.

Lee acknowledged the compliment with his eyes then raised the mic once again.

"Sparks, send the Sea Turtle my compliments and request docking permission."

"Aye Sir."

"Chip, hold this position for bell link up."

"Aye, aye Skipper."

Lee placed a confident hand on Chip's shoulder then left for his cabin to retrieve his sweater as he and the Admiral would be taking the trip down together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The three hundred foot drop was made both effortlessly and efficiently as Seaview's deep sea exploration bell was utilized to provide the link between the Sea Turtle and the sub.

"Just think how much time we'll save once the flying sub is retrofitted," Harry noted casually on the way down, both men sporting wool green sweaters over their khakis.

"Aye Sir," Lee replied with the excitement in his eyes declaring his anticipation for FS1's impending debut, as it had just passed its sea trials and had previously been deemed air worthy. It was a working prototype awaiting its home berth in Seaview's nose. This was in fact, Seaview's last voyage before spending the next three months in dry dock for the retrofit.

"Thirty feet... twenty feet... ten feet..." Lee called off the estimated distance to the Sea Turtle's hatch into the mic as Harry applied thrusters to adjust for the current.

The descent slowed considerably while Lee called off the final feet.

"...Five feet... Touchdown," he reported as Harry smiled at the perfect landing, right on target.

Lee moved to the deck hatch and tapped twice with a wrench signaling a good mating, as their signal was met with two clanks from below. He turned the hatch, while the Sea Turtle personnel did the same from their end; the result was a perfect link up as Lee lowered supplies down the ladder to waiting crewmen.

Harry continued to shut-down the systems aboard the bell, then proceeded down the ladder once the supplies were transferred.

"Harriman!" Joshua Ryder greeted in delight.

"Hello Joshua," Harry returned as the two shook hands in familiarity. "May I present Seaview's Master, Captain Crane."

"Nice to meet you Dr. Ryder," Lee greeted with an extended hand.

"Likewise, Captain Crane. That was some fancy navigating gentlemen, our bell from above doesn't always mate on the first attempt," Ryder complimented.

"Thank you Joshua; it's a team effort," Harry replied, pleased with the compliment but gracious in his reply.

"Well, let's start the tour, shall we?" Joshua replied excitedly as Lee sensed Harry's own excitement swell.

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The tour boasted modest crew's quarters with four small enclosures, each with a set of bunks on opposite walls of the Turtle, a moderate sized lab, the control room, and a small galley. The largest compartment housed the Remote Operated Vehicle, the underwater rover fondly dubbed Clifford, as the unmanned ROV was painted red and larger than its counterpart, Emily. Though Clifford was the workhorse in the operation with more compartments for samples, it was Emily that often rescued the larger submersible when it inadvertently became entangled or got caught in tight places.

The dive room shared the same compartment, complete with a hatch for divers. At their current depths, a special oxygen mixture was required as well as pressure suits. Only two of the eight occupants aboard were certified to dive at these depths and did so rather sparingly as Clifford and Emily offered low-risk assessments of the sea bed. A series of cameras and monitors served as the ROVs' eyes, while remotely operated retrieval arms brought back samples. The samples were whisked away to the lab where chemical analysis determined REEs for future mining.

"Fascinating," Harry noted, as he observed the rovers' control equipment. "I'm impressed by how well you've utilized your space," he complimented.

"Thank you Admiral, the Sea Turtle is a fine piece of engineering. I'm pleased you approve," Ryder replied before rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Now, let's demonstrate our retrieval process," he said. His eyes were unusually light in color for the darkness of his hair, indeed his gray eyes seemed to clash with his brown hair awkwardly. He was slightly younger than Harry, being in his late forties and was a slender man, so much so that his cheeks sunk a bit on his cheek bones almost creating cavities. The dark heavy framed glasses, along with the ever-present pocket protector loaded with pens, precision rulers and other tools of his trade, rounded off his appearance as Joshua Ryder fit the scientist stereotype to a tee.

"Cervantes here is one of our pilots. He's quite efficient at moving Clifford around."

"I meant to ask you," Lee joined in. "Just where did you get the name Clifford?"

Ryder raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "No children at home, Captain?"

Lee laughed as Cervantes chuckled while he prepared to launch and remotely pilot the ROV.

"No, definitely not."

"Well suffice it to say, it's a play on words from a children's book about a big red dog..."

Lee nodded and held a hand up with a jestful smile.

"Say no more Dr. Ryder; I think I've seen the book."

He was pretty sure he had the right visual as the last time he had dinner with the Morton clan, Uncle Chip had been corralled by his nieces and nephews to read. Lee remembered snickering at "Uncle" Chip with an arm full of kids in his lap and reading some book about an overgrown pup. It was worth a few good jabs on the way home as Chip was very animated in his character voices. Seaview's XO, however, was undaunted by the good-natured razzing as Lee actually admired Chip's ease with the children of his large extended family. His own family was rather small as his mother was an only child and he didn't see much of his father's sister as they lived in the mid-west, half a continent away from where he grew up. The Morton family had been a slight shock when he began hanging out with Chip on summer breaks. They were a large brood who were comfortable with hugs, fatherly embraces and lots of rough housing. Nevertheless, he had no problem fitting in and was welcomed as part of the family; something he enjoyed rekindling as Chip talked him into visiting while he recovered from a gunshot wound after his secret mission to flush out the traitor responsible for Captain Phillips' death.

Harry, however, had never seen the book and was frankly, uninterested in where the rover got its name as he watched Cervantes launch Clifford.

"Now here is our search grid for the day," Ryder pointed out as the rover slowly made its way toward the target area.

"What kind of elements have you found so far?" Harry asked, watching the rover glide through the depths from the forward cameras mounted on the Sea Turtle, as well as a screen displaying the image from the camera mounted on Clifford.

"Zinc, cobalt, copper and trace amounts of silver," Ryder answered as Clifford neared its designated search area. "There Pete. See?" he said, momentarily ignoring his guests as he guided Cervantes to a rock he wanted to explore.

Harry and Lee watched with interest as the robotic arm extended remotely, scooping up the rock while leaving a cloudy residue of sediment kicked up from the retrieval. As they watched the process, Harry was already silently brainstorming a similar system he could install on the flying sub; he deemed FS1 as more than transportation, and sample retrieval would be well-worth the loss of cargo space.

"Excellent Pete," Ryder complimented.

Their task was to sample rocks from various sectors, mapping out the most likely area of the highest concentration of Rare Earth Elements before committing the large scale operation with the CLB, the continuous line bucket system, which was far less disturbing to the environment than the hydraulic suction system.

"How about that one?" Harry said, leaning over and getting into the spirit of the hunt as Lee noted the Admiral's interest in the process. His scientific genius often revealed itself in a refined child-like curiosity, but his brilliant mind was anything but juvenile; it was sophisticated and exceptional, often pushing the envelope and breaking barriers others had long since erroneously erected.

"Yes, I see," Ryder agreed, pushing his glasses higher on his nose as he leaned down and pointing it out for Cervantes.

"Dr. Ryder," Cervantes gently admonished as Ryder withdrew his finger from the screen and chuckled nervously.

"I sometimes get excited," he explained. "Pete has to remind me constantly not to touch the screen," he said, stopping to pull out an eraser tipped pencil to point out his next desired sample.

They continued working for the next hour before Cervantes turned toward Lee.

"Would you like to give it a try Captain?"

Lee had operated a few ROVs in his day and smiled at the opportunity.

"I'd love to," he replied as Cervantes gave him a short run-down of the operations.

Lee retrieved the next sample handily as Harry watched with satisfaction, before turning the controls back over to the certified operator for the journey back to the Sea Turtle.

"Now the fun begins," Joshua said, smiling widely and not holding back his own excitement. "Let's head to the moon pool and welcome home Clifford, then we'll break for lunch and dive into the samples in the lab," he announced.

"Fine," Harry replied, clearly enjoying the operation. He was impressed and pleased with the responsible extraction of the samples thus far, as he followed Dr. Ryder to the moon pool.

"I'll be along shortly, Admiral," Lee advised. "I'd like to watch Cervantes pilot her in."

"Very well, Lee," Harry answered, barely turning for his reply as he eagerly followed his host aft.

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"Well gentlemen," Ryder said sitting back from the table contently, "Please convey our deepest appreciation to your cook for the treat of someone else's cooking," he finished with a grin as the men enjoyed a hearty meal of Cookie's homemade lasagna.

"If there's one thing we submariners know, is what it's like to be under the ice for a few months at a time," Lee replied with a grin. "I'll pass on your compliments; I'm sure Cookie will appreciate it."

The rest of the Turtle's men all agreed as several wolfed down the last of the peach cobbler.

"I never knew canned peaches could taste so good," Peter Cervantes joined in while scraping his fork across the plate in an effort to glean the last of the sugary treat.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Harry answered, sitting back and finishing his last gulp of coffee.

"Well then," Ryder interjected. "As I said, this is where the fun begins. Let's head over to the lab and see what we've got."

Lee noted the gleam in Harry's eyes at the thought of analyzing the samples and held back a satisfied smile. He enjoyed watching the Admiral have fun and marveled at how satisfying their working relationship had become. Their mutual respect for one another had unexpectedly produced a strong paternal friendship, though neither man had ever mentioned it. Harry filled a void that had been left by his father's passing all those years ago. It had caught him by surprise to realize that he even had this so-called "void" for he had no memories of his father, having died in combat when he was only four years old in the Korean Conflict. He was grateful his mother spoke of him often, leaving him with many family stories to cherish. But this unexpected friendship with Harry offered him the opportunity to feel what being best friends with one's father felt like. It was different than the brotherly friendship he and Chip had; yet neither relationship was less important than the other. He didn't ponder on it often, choosing to quietly enjoy the friendship and determined to keep his professionalism at every turn. For that reason, he always addressed Harry by his two titles: Admiral or Sir. Likewise, Harry had never invited him to call him by his first name, he suspected for the same reason; to avoid the pitfalls of over-familiarity on the boat. Perhaps it would be hard for some people to negotiate, but he and Harry seemed to navigate through their profound friendship with professionalism and ease. He rather liked it that way, and wasn't in a hurry to have a "Gee, you're like the Dad I never knew" discussion. At least for right now, he was satisfied with things the way they were.

Maybe someday they would have that "talk" and then he was quite sure he would probably say something very close to, "Gee, you're like the Dad I never knew."

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Harry was having a ball as they had hit the jackpot with their sample collection. They had netted elements usually found in depths closer to 13,000 feet, as the extinct volcano blew out its treasures from deep inside strewing them across the large caldera valley like candy from a loaded piñata. Harry and Dr. Ryder were both hunched over microscopes, while Bunsen burners and other apparatus promised confirmation on the manganese; the silvery element with industrial metal alloy uses, especially in stainless steel. It was a metallurgist's dream come true.

"What a fantastic find, Joshua," Harry exclaimed, only marginally holding his excitement back.

"Yes," Ryder replied matching Harry's excitement. "Now if we verify similar results in the surrounding sectors, we'll be able to label this for the alpha recovery site."

"Admiral," Lee interrupted rather sheepishly.

"Hmmm?" Harry answered distractedly to Lee's raised eyebrow as he tried to convey his message as unobtrusively as possible.

"It seems my captain is reminding me of our schedule," he explained to Ryder with a slight chuckle.

"But we've made such progress!" Ryder exclaimed clearly disappointed. "Having you here made the identification process move along by geometric proportions."

"I wish I could stay longer," Harry said regretfully.

"Why not, Admiral?" Lee offered with a pleasant smile. "We could send down your bag and additional supplies for the galley and I'll take Seaview back for her retrofit."

"I couldn't possibly be away for that long," Harry replied a bit confused.

Lee held a hand up in explanation. "Only until we dock. Mr. Morton will get the retrofit underway and I'll return in FS1 to retrieve you."

Harry's countenance changed instantly from regret back to excitement.

"FS1?" Joshua inquired with a wrinkled brow.

"A new submersible that will link up with the Sea Turtle just fine," Harry explained ambiguously.

Lee spotted Dr. Ryder's confusion and spoke up. "I can be back in about nine days."

"Nine days?" he exclaimed. "I suppose by your cryptic explanations this is something Top Secret?"

"Soon to be declassified," Harry assured. "Well, what do you say Joshua? Do you have an extra bunk for the next nine days?"

Joshua's face lit up upon the realization that Harry would be available for the sample identification. He resisted rubbing his hands together in child-like excitement, but his sincerity wasn't missed as he answered.

"Absolutely!"

They spent the next ten minutes making plans while Lee contacted Seaview with the change of plans and orders to make ready additional supplies. He would take care of the Admiral's personal belongings himself before descending the short three hundred foot drop again for link up.

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"Enjoy yourself, Sir," Lee offered while standing at the bottom of the ladder, ready to ascend into the bell.

Harry returned Lee's smile; he wasn't fooled in the least. While participating in the sample retrieval and element identification was a welcome diversion to his rather tedious schedule, he also knew that Lee was just itching to take FS1 out for a spin on a real mission. It looked like they were both going to get what they wanted out of this one, he thought with a grin.

"You just make sure you don't push the envelope too much," he said with knowing raised eyebrows.

Lee raised a hand up in an "I promise" move, then waggled his eyebrows indicating his true intent before he chuckled.

"Don't worry Sir. I'm well aware of her standards," he assured Harry. "She's a fine little lady and she'll do us both proud," he declared.

Harry returned the smile; he wasn't worried about either the flying sub or her pilot.

"Very well, Lee. See you in nine days," he added with a hand on his shoulder as Lee nodded and climbed the ladder. Within minutes the hatches were secured and the mating skirt released.

"Ready to disengage, Chip," Lee announced in the mic, having donned his wool sweater once again for the cold ride up.

Harry monitored the bell's progress in the communication's room then signed off as Seaview left her station. He heaved a satisfied breath out, thoroughly looking forward to the scientific venture in front of him.

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Out in the cold, dark valley of the caldera, dozens of neon yellow lights moved purposefully toward the next sector on the grid, attaching themselves to several sulfuric rock samples. Their life force pulsated in the luminescent light, almost as if they were collectively breathing as they anticipated the arrival of the strange beast that would carry them to their objective. Collectively they calmed themselves, ratcheting back their luminescent life force and preserving their strength for tomorrow's Call.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Harry stood behind Cervantes as he guided Clifford to their next search sector.

"That one," Dr. Ryder said pointing out a rock that glistened back against the rover's light as its silvery color suggested a manganese find.

"What's that?" Cervantes asked, narrowing his eyes as he squinted at the screen. "It looks like it's glowing," he added.

"Could be a bio-luminescent," Harry postulated. "Let's collect it; I'm guessing it's a form of nannoplankton."

"Hmmm, possibly," Ryder agreed. "I'm as curious as you are."

"There's another one," Cervantes pointed out, its glow even brighter than the first one, but before he could retrieve either one Clifford was banged from the side. The forward camera shook violently from the unexpected collision, while Pete worked feverishly making adjustments for the sluggish controls.

"What was that?" Pete exclaimed, while trying to regain control of the red submersible.

"I don't know, there aren't any rock formations in the area that we could have hit," Dr. Ryder said leaning forward trying to discern what went wrong.

"We're being rammed!" Pete yelled again as Clifford took another hit on the opposite side.

"There!" Harry said, pointing toward a shark swimming erratically in front of the forward camera.

The eight foot shark was about to make another pass, when it aimed for the submersible once again.

"Quick, put the rover on the bottom," Harry advised as the shark swam forward then turned sharply, it meandered around for a little while longer before disappearing beyond the lights of Clifford.

"How did you know it would break off the attack?" Joshua asked as he leaned over trying to help Cervantes reset the controls.

"I didn't, but the tiger shark was behaving like it was in a feeding frenzy. I assumed it would be less agitated by the stillness of the submersible and realize it wasn't edible."

"Except tiger sharks are known to eat inedible man-made objects," Joshua interjected with a raised eyebrow.

"Very true," Harry conceded as he studied the monitor for the erratic shark.

"Go ahead and raise her from the bottom," Joshua instructed as Cervantes turned switches, toggles and levers trying to get Clifford to respond.

"She's been damaged," Pete reported, able to raise her vertically but unable to maneuver her forward or aft.

He put Clifford back on the bottom then leaned back with a huff.

"Looks like we'll be sending _Emily_ out for the rover again," he added with a tinge of distaste.

Dr. Ryder agreed with a nod, then raised a tethered microphone and toggled the switch on.

"Calvin, this is Ryder. Better break out Emily, Clifford's in trouble again."

"No problem, Boss," a jovial voice was heard. "My girl's always ready to rescue that big red clunker."

Harry noted Cervantes huff again and mutter something unrepeatable under his breath, as he quickly got the picture that the operators of the submersibles had a friendly rivalry going with each one devoted to their own ROV.

"Don't launch her till we clear the area. I want to make sure that the sector is clear of that crazy tiger shark," Joshua ordered into the mic.

"You got it, Boss," was heard over the communication's system as Pete continued his muttering.

"Now I owe him **two** steak dinners," he complained as it was apparent there was some sort of good-natured bet among the two for how many times Clifford needed rescuing.

Harry smiled. Yes, this was definitely the change of pace he needed to decompress after that last mission and clear his mind for the major engineering feat of retrofitting Seaview to berth the flying sub.

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"I'm surprised the Admiral stayed behind," Chip said across the breakfast table in the officer's mess, known as the Wardroom. "It seems a bit out of character, with the retrofit and all," he noted over his coffee cup.

"Not really. You should have seen him, it was the most relaxed he's been in months," Lee answered over his own cup of coffee. "Besides, there's a week's worth of preparations before the first torch is laid to Seaview's hull and there's no way either he or I will miss that," he finished resolutely.

"Do you want a co-pilot for FS1?"

"Sorry Chip, I can't spare you, besides," he said with a slight shrug, "it's a milk run."

"A supersonic milk run," Chip replied with raised eyebrows as Lee cracked a smile.

"You and Chief Jones just keep the preparations on track at the dry dock. The Admiral and I will be back in plenty of time to oversee the first stage of the retrofit."

Chip acknowledged the "order" part of the statement then leaned forward for the unofficial inside scoop.

"So are you going to put her through the works?" he whispered.

"She's fully certified, I see no reason not to open her up and get a feel for what she can do," Lee replied, intending to put FS1 through the paces on his four hour flight back to the open seas between the Hawaiian Islands and Papua New Guinea.

"That's what I thought," Chip answered, sitting back and grinning.

Lee finished off the cup then stood. "Well, I'm heading to the Control Room. Do you still have a drill scheduled for this afternoon?"

"Aye Sir," Chip replied, returning to boat business mode. "Got to keep them on their toes or all they'll be thinking about is which watering hole to hit first once we make port."

"Carry on Mr. Morton," Lee replied with a smile, as the two headed for the Control Room.

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Emily was deployed, reached Clifford and painstakingly attached a tow-line via remote control as Calvin operated the smaller rover. Once the tow was established it was a matter of Calvin tugging and Pete keeping Clifford's cables out of his way. The two worked together rather well, despite Cervantes' earlier grumbling as Harry noted the sincere camaraderie between the two technicians. They rather reminded him of Lee and Chip in some ways as Pete Cervantes' bronze skin and dark hair contrasted sharply against the fair skinned and sandy blond hair of Calvin Green. Both were fit young men, but it was mostly their ribbing and friendship playing through a competitive moment that reminded him of Seaview's Command Team.

The rescue operation took most of the afternoon before both ROVs were retrieved; as Calvin stroked Emily promising extra gear oil for her good work, Pete lamented over Clifford's obvious battle scars with the confused tiger shark.

"She's banged up pretty good, Dr. Ryder," Pete announced remorsefully. "It's beyond what I can do; I'm afraid we're going to have to send Clifford top-side for repairs."

"That might not be necessary," Harry stepped in. "If you have the right tools and Mr. Cervantes here assists me, I think we can repair Clifford just fine."

Joshua Ryder smiled contently. "Well there's something for having a prolific inventor and scientist on board," he declared. "What about it Pete?"

"Sounds good Dr. Ryder," Cervantes said as he and Harry started the repairs in good spirits, despite their bad luck with a crazy shark and a damaged rover.

VTTBOTS

Harry walked into the Sea Turtle's control room cleaning his hands on a shop towel.

"Well, it's got a few dents but it's repaired and completely operational," Harry announced as Ryder studied a tape of the shark attack. "We made some precision adjustments on the robotics, Pete is finishing up with some tests but I think we'll be good to go tomorrow."

"Good, good," Joshua said sitting back with a sigh. "You know you really saved us a lot of time, Harriman. We already lost a day and a half; at least now we can get back to business."

Harry nodded graciously and then noted the screen behind Joshua.

"Is that yesterday's attack?"

"Yes," Joshua said turning back to the screen and turning quite serious. "I was studying the tapes to determine the best opportunity for REE collection when I noticed this," he said, reaching for the player controls and fast forwarding to a specific spot.

"See here?" Joshua said, pointing at the black and white footage. The water had lost its clarity with sediments and silt stirred up during the attack, but the shark's eyes were of special interest.

"Hmm," Harry said catching on quickly to Joshua's concern. "It's almost like the eyes are glowing?"

"Exactly, not reflecting light... but glowing," Joshua agreed. "I've never seen anything like it. It's certainly not like any tiger shark I've ever seen."

"Well at any rate, it should be long gone from these waters," Harry postulated. "They're highly nomadic and since it didn't get a good meal here, it most likely moved on."

"I agree. Well, I'm just glad we can get back to doing the work we were sent here to do," Joshua replied happily.

VTTBOTS

The lights glowed in a bright yellow florescence, gathering together on several rocks with the hopes of being collected. They used the same tactic when certain fish swam by, as the Colony's movement was limited to the prevailing current. The preferred hosts were the larger sea beasts, and in some cases, smaller fish of certain species existing in a symbiotic relationship by cleaning parasites off larger fish were seen as transportation. It saw the rover as nothing more than the same type of conveyance a smaller fish would provide en route to a shark or some other large creature.

Their anticipation grew as their neon lights glowed brighter, anticipating the satisfaction of the higher cerebral functions of the nearby creatures. They mutually dimmed their luminescent life force, preserving their strength for tomorrow's Call and waited. It was time to seek a new host.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N How could I refuse? Here you go, Mila. Subjockey**

 **Chapter Four**

"Very well, retrieve that one as well," Ryder directed as Clifford returned to the same survey point at which it had been attacked. Several sulfuric rocks with the strange luminescence were collected as Joshua now turned his attention to the REEs they were actually searching for.

"That one there," he pointed out, by-passing a third rock with the strange glowing lights and opting for the silvery possibility of the element they were interested in.

After an hour of retrieval, Cervantes made ready for Clifford's return to the moon pool.

"Well done, Pete," Ryder complimented before turning to Harry. "He's one of the best ROV pilots around."

"Indeed," Harry agreed.

"Now, let's go see what treasures he brought in," Joshua said, clearly enjoying having Harry here to share his love of chemistry and discovery.

Harry for his part, was thoroughly enjoying this working "vacation" as life had been somewhat too serious lately with only several months between him and a secret mission that tested the trust he and Lee had built thus far as everything possible had been done to make certain people believe that Harry was willing to turn traitor to protect his only living relative; his sister, Edith.* The entire ruse was intended to convince the organization seeking the location of the secret underwater missile silos that they had in fact done so, making any further attempts to obtain that information unnecessary.

Even Lee had been kept from the details, which proved problematic as the very efficient General Hamid, who was also kept out of the loop, suspected treachery on the part of the Admiral. Unfortunately, Hamid did his job all too well as the real traitor, General Fenton, murdered him leaving Harry to take the fall. It was here that Lee had to make a decision, armed with the damning evidence of his own surveillance as well as the physical evidence of Harry and Hamid's struggle. With the evidence completely against him, Lee had to decide how much he trusted Harry. In the end, he stepped out on his faith in the Admiral and helped to stop Fenton by delivering the navigation equipment to the evil general, then stealing it back before Fenton's hideaway was blown-up, leaving the General's superiors to believe that they did indeed have the missile locations. Harry was more than pleased that Lee had trusted him enough to act; the mission validating the strong paternal feelings that he had developed since the young captain arrived.

The fact that Lee knew how much he needed this little diversion just proved how well they understood one another. It was an understanding that required little words; something the Admiral appreciated immensely, for as fiery, passionate, and outspoken as he tended to be about duty, honor, and integrity he found his personal emotions to be an entirely different matter.

"Sounds good," Harry said, returning his attention to Joshua's treasure hunt. "I'm also curious about the bio-luminescence on the rock samples," Harry said as they headed to the moon pool where the Sea Turtle's crew was busy bringing Clifford back in.

VTTBOTS

The samples were taken to the lab while the crew had lunch, with the rocks placed across the table in trays of sea water. Two rocks glowed brightly, almost excitedly at the prospect of obtaining new hosts. Their "Call" had been nearly thwarted by the tiger shark as it had served as a host for other members of their Colony. Unfortunately, after a time, the small brained sea creatures simply short circuited as more and more of their brain functions were taken over. In short, the shark went mad. The Colony, however, was able to focus all its control to stop the shark's rampage on the retrieval vessel, forcing the shark to retreat and then abandoning the host just before its death.

The brain waves of the nearby creatures tantalized the Colony as instinct always drove them to seek a better host before their parasitical relationship of the current host resulted in its inevitable death. The Colony worked together as a cohesive unit and much like ants or bees had a distinctive social order as well. The first step in determining the viability of their next host would be to sample the creatures in an "Inclusion" where the host would be included into the Colony for the betterment of the community's existence. During the Inclusion the host would be moved through the ranks of the social system in descending order starting as the Owner in control of its destiny, and moving down the ranks as the Colony gained more dominance, until the host was demoted to the lowest rank of Chattel, the complete property of the Colony.

Patiently they waited, their glowing Call retreating into a steady but less luminescent light. Several potential hosts were noted, their brain wave activity calling to the Colony in rhythmic ecstasy. When the host was close enough the Colony would call, issuing a collective pleasing light that pulsated in life, attracting the predator to become the prey.

VTTBOTS

The two glowing rocks were initially ignored as Joshua and Harry concentrated their chemical analysis on the objects of their survey; the Rare Earth Elements found in what were once the irretrievable treasures of the sea.

"Well now, the initial properties identified are quite encouraging," Joshua said as Harry prepared the Bunsen burner to conduct further analysis.

"I agree, but the key will be the actual concentration of manganese to the sulfuric rock's chemical make-up," Harry replied, not missing a beat in the set-up he was currently working on.

"Absolutely," Joshua said with a sigh. "You know Harriman, I've forgotten how pleasant this process is with a partner," he noted amicably.

"I agree Joshua. I have dozens of lab staff at NIMR, but most of my analysis aboard Seaview is done singularly, by me in the lab. Not that I don't enjoy the solitude, but this project has been very gratifying to work on," he replied both honestly and graciously as Joshua responded with an agreeing smile and nod.

"Well we've put in a full day," Joshua said. "Let's say we break for dinner and if we still want to dive into the mystery behind our luminescent friends here..." he said with a head tilted toward the two rock samples pulsating lightly in the sample trays, "...we can continue then. Otherwise, they'll be waiting for us first thing tomorrow morning."

Harry sat back and stretched out a kink in his back. "Sounds like a good idea."

"Oh, by the way," Joshua interjected as they walked toward the door. "I've added you to Galley Detail Rotation as Chef. You're spared the clean-up detail as we all take care of our own place settings, but this way we get to sample what you admirals like."

Harry laughed. "My pleasure, just how many cans of Spam do you have aboard?" he quipped to Joshua's raised eyebrows before he joined Harry in laughter.

Joshua turned off the light behind him as their chuckles followed them down the corridors, each scientist fully enjoying both the scientific endeavor and the camaraderie as well.

VTTBOTS

Joshua entered the lab, having had a satisfying meal as Harry did indeed treat the group to Spam Delight, helped along with the fresh red, green and yellow peppers Seaview's cook had stashed in the supplies. He smiled contently as he sat down in front of the last two sulfuric rock samples. Joshua tilted his head at the pleasing glow and reached for a rock. As he grasped the rock he felt a charge in his hand but was unable to loosen his grip as he watched individual shoots of yellow neon lights travel from the rock to his fingers, disappearing under his finger nails. His eyes widened in terror as the lights disappeared under his skin and raced up his arm.

He stood abruptly knocking his stool over in the process as he tried to yell for help, only to have his voice go inexplicably silent. He reached for his head as the invasive parasite moved quickly through his central nervous system to his brain, quickly searching for and finding its destination as it eased the anxiety in its host, massaging his fear and confusion into submission and then suppressing the recent memory.

Joshua Ryder blinked in confusion then noticed the stool lying haphazardly across the floor. He reached down and picked it up, not quite remembering how it had fallen but not entirely concerned as he examined the rocks in the sample tray.

"How are our specimens doing?" Harry asked as Joshua blinked, surprised he hadn't heard Harriman's approach.

"Well, this sample seems to be less luminescent than before. Don't you think so?"

"Hmmm, I think you're right. Let's just see what kind of nannoplankton we're dealing with," Harry said reaching for the sample with the brighter lights still shining.

"You're that sure we'll find nannoplankton?"

"Well it's just a hypothesis at this point," Harry said as he picked up the rock sample and examined it first visually before using a small pick and hammer to retrieve a smaller sample for the microscope slide.

Joshua and Harry worked side by side for the next two hours, without fully identifying the mystery bio-luminescent before shutting the lab down for the night and retiring for the evening.

"See you bright and early tomorrow morning," Joshua said with a friendly wave as Harry took the private guest quarters reserved for the occasional corporate big wig checking up on their progress.

"See you in the morning," Harry returned and entered his quarters, content.

Joshua entered his quarters rubbing his temples slightly. He was exhausted and sacked out on his cot as soon as he dressed for bed, bypassing the novel he was reading and the nightly journal he usually wrote in.

VTTBOTS

It took all the patience and social order of the Colony to suppress its desire to take the second creature in the lab but they submitted to the Overlords, the highest class of the Colony and remained passive, allowing him to pick up the rock without initiating an Inclusion. The Overlords exerted their authority as impatient Servers, the second lowest of the Colony structure and the last ranked over the Chattel or host, urged for another Inclusion. But for the good of the community and because disobedience was dealt with harshly, they withheld themselves and were forced to enjoy the tantalizing brain waves tickling their sensors instead. Once the evaluation of the new species was complete they would be free to call the other creatures for an Inclusion; that thought alone brought a satisfying pulsating glow as the Colony rested and awaited the report from the Scouts.

 ***VTTBOTS S01E32,** _ **The Traitor**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Dr. Ryder woke up the next morning feeling nothing less than grumpy and with the overwhelming desire to collect the remaining glowing rocks containing the unidentified bio-luminescent.

"Pete, I'd like to talk to you for a moment," Ryder said, calling Cervantes even before he had a chance to sit down for breakfast.

"Can it wait at least till after my cornflakes?" he joked, but quickly relented upon seeing the frown on the doctor's face. The others at the table just raised an eyebrow figuring it was the inevitable grumpiness that sometimes struck when people worked together in a small enclosed vessel, fifteen hundred feet below sea level.

Pete followed Ryder into the lab.

"I want you to be very careful today to retrieve the rest of the samples with these glowing creatures," he said, picking up a rock and handing it to Cervantes.

"Yeah, sure Doc," he said looking at the rock and then watching as yellow neon lights raced toward his fingers and entered his body from the five digits, glowing under his finger nails and disappearing inside his body.

"What the...?"

"It's okay, Pete," Ryder said with a hand to his shoulder. "Just relax; it will all be over in a minute."

"This is too weird," he breathed out as panic began to take over, but found he was unable to scream or run for help. A moment later he found himself breathing normally again as Ryder stepped back.

"So we'll retrieve the rest of the rocks with the strange glow today and resume our samples for REEs tomorrow," Ryder continued quite normally as Pete nodded, his short term memory having been blocked to exclude the Inclusion.

"Sure Doc, anything you say," he replied with a shrug of the shoulder and wondering just why this bit of instruction had to come before his breakfast.

They walked back to the Galley just as everyone else was finishing up.

"Harriman, do you have a moment?"

"Of course, Joshua," Harry replied, ready for another day of sample collections and chemical analysis, and feeling a bit like a mouse vacationing in a cheese factory.

"I just wanted to show you this," he said, leading him to the lab.

"Hmm...," Harry said right away, noting the glow was gone on one of the rock samples, while the other sample sat seemingly unaffected. Ryder stood back, allowing Harry's own curiosity to do the job for him as the Admiral first examined the rock without any remaining luminescent. He started to reach for the other sample when a crewman appeared at the door.

"Excuse me Admiral Nelson."

"Yes Carter?"

"You have a call in Communications."

"Very well," he said, withdrawing his hand from the glowing sample and turning to Dr. Ryder. "I'll take a look at this later," he promised and headed to the Communication's Center.

VTTBOTS

"Nelson," he greeted into the hand held mic.

"Hello Admiral," the friendly voice of Lee Crane greeted.

"Lee," Harry replied in a good mood. "How's Seaview?"

"Ship shape, Sir."

"Good," Harry replied enjoying the call from "home".

"We're about ready to move out of direct radio contact, Sir," Lee explained. "I just thought I'd check in with you to see if there was anything you needed me to bring on my return trip."

"No, I'm good for the next four or five days," Harry replied, supressing a smile as he knew Lee was using a very weak excuse to check up on him.

"Very well, Sir. I'll see you then."

"Very good Lee. Sea Turtle out," he said, grinning as he hung up the mic. He checked his watch and noted the time, then headed to the control room to watch Clifford at work.

Harry arrived in the control room and scanned the monitors with a wrinkled brow.

"I thought we were moving on to the next sector?" he asked casually.

"Not yet," Ryder answered distractedly. "I would like to know what happened to that nannoplankton. We're collecting more samples now."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Do you see it as relevant to the REEs?" he asked carefully, as he was a guest aboard; a very important guest, but a guest just the same.

"I think so. We need to know what sea life might be affected by our operations here."

Harry nodded in complete agreement. "Very good thinking, Joshua. Very good indeed," he said leaning over as Cervantes honed in on every glowing rock sample he could find.

"Do you need that many samples, Joshua?" Harry asked slightly confused with what looked like an over-abundance of samples for their analysis.

"We lost fifty percent of our sample, if I may remind the Admiral," Ryder returned sharply and then sighed. "I'm sorry, Harriman, but I'm adamant about doing this right."

Harry backed off with a raised eyebrow, wondering if Dr. Ryder hadn't had enough coffee yet this morning.

"Fine Joshua, this is your show," he conceded studying both the doctor and the screen and noting Joshua's change of mood since last night.

VTTBOTS

The time had come, the Inclusion of the creature Ryder had been successful; it was only a matter of time before the Colony demoted the creature's will down to Chattel where it would have complete control. The advance scouting party had deemed these creatures as the highest quality of host they had included so far. Part of the Colony had already relocated to the creature Cervantes and the remaining members of the Colony were being brought aboard even now. The creature Nelson had been sent to the lab to begin work on the sample there, while Ryder was directed to present the remaining creatures for Inclusion.

The Colony, though operating within a highly sophisticated social system was no more intelligent than the honey bee or ant. They simply worked together within the established social system for the betterment of the entire Colony. The higher brain functions of their host did, however, provide an exchange of information which allowed the Colony Overlords to make instinctive decisions for the collective well-being of the community. While not intelligent in and of themselves, they were able to "borrow" from their host to a certain degree; that is until the complete Inclusion process was reached. At which point, the creature would perform only its basic functions of survival. As the host's body decayed under the loss of their own brain functions, the Colony would actively search for their next host. They saw these creatures in the same exact way, and conveyed their instinctive demands straight through the brain waves they controlled.

To this end, Ryder had called the remaining six crewmen to the moon pool. One by one he handed each man a glowing sample, which they took a bit confused. The Colony waited until each man held a rock before beginning the Inclusion as they simultaneously invaded the Sea Turtle's crew. Small sounds of distress were replaced with blinking eyes of confusion; none were aware that their wills were systematically being lowered down the chain of the new social order they were now a part of, as they went about their duties... business as usual.

VTTBOTS

Harry reached the lab and heaved his shoulders in a sigh. Joshua was behaving very oddly today and had all but insisted that he attend to the sample already in the lab. His behavior bothered him, and frankly he wondered if he was beginning to exhibit pressure sickness, a reaction to the depths that was sometimes unpredictable.

He pulled the stool up and reached for the last sulfuric rock sample, noting the pulsating glow becoming stronger. He wrapped his hand around the rock and found an instant invasion, as the Colony wasted no time. He watched in horror as the neon yellow lights shot under his finger nails then disappeared up his fingers. He could almost feel the movements of the Nanno creatures, for he now knew they weren't plankton. He wanted to run, scream, do anything to keep the creatures from advancing, but before he could do anything the creatures reached his brain. Harry's eyes went wide as he gasped, hundreds of creatures latching onto different brain functions and taking control at different levels. Then only a moment later, the confusion and terror were gone as members of the Colony massaged a pleasing, peaceful mood into his being. He took a deep breath in and expelled it out with a blink. Harriman Nelson was still there, having been demoted down only one rank thus far. He would retain both his intellect and the greater portion of his will for only a short time, before being relegated down to the lowest rank of Chatell; a slave to the Colony.

VTTBOTS

Harry decided it was time to make a radio call top-side. The mood aboard the Sea Turtle had turned decisively sour, with each crewmen becoming increasingly grumpy. No longer were they interacting in playful jesting, but with overtones of hostility. He had noticed his own mood taking a downward turn as well. Furthermore, the crew seemed less interested in their mission, and were going about their duties with far less professionalism than he had noted when he first arrived eight days ago. In fact, today Ryder had announced that the rover wouldn't be deployed at all. As a matter of standard operating procedures, the crew rotated rest days off, which kept the Sea Turtle in seven day a week continual operations, so the order was quite unorthodox. But it was the strangeness in Joshua's eyes that really troubled him; a yellow tint, almost as if he was suffering from hepatitis or jaundice. If that weren't enough, they weren't just tinted yellow, but they were glowing an almost neon yellow. Cervantes' eyes were almost just as noticeable and Harry was frankly, very concerned. So much so, that he decided to make the radio call without informing Joshua. His sour mood wouldn't be helped by the knowledge that the admiral had gone over his head, but there was definitely something wrong here.

"Deep Sea 1 this is Sea Turtle, do you read me?"

There was a slight pause before the radio crackled to life.

"This is Deep Sea 1. We read you loud and clear Sea Turtle. Is that you Admiral Nelson?"

"Yes, now listen very carefully. Something is..."

But that was as far as Harry got before an excruciating pain invaded his head as he dropped the mic and fell to the floor, writhing in pain while the Colony exerted all its effort into keeping the creature Nelson from making contact. They weren't strong enough yet for further Inclusions and didn't want the creature to call more of its kind just yet, as they perceived through Harry's thought processes a definite threat to their existence. They responded by conducting a rapid demotion, attempting to push Harry's will further and further down the rank system. But he was still too strong to control so they called the other Colony members for help.

Ryder, Cervantes and the others ran to the radio room and pulled Harry away, all the while the mother ship continued to try and make contact.

"Say again, Admiral Nelson... This is Deep Sea 1 calling Sea Turtle... Does anyone read us? Come in Sea Turtle!"

Ryder peered at the radio, his eyes completely glowing in a strange neon light as the Colony perceived a great threat. At the will of the Overlords and with the collective will of the Colony, they exerted themselves as Joshua Ryder picked up the metal chair and began ramming it into the radio unit in an uncontrollable rage and a driving need to destroy the machine. He continued till the sparks gave way to a small fire and then stopped himself when his crewmen stepped in with extinguishers. He turned toward the Sea Turtle's crew, each one with eyes in various stages of glowing neon yellow, which indicated the level of dominance the Colony had over its host.

"What do we do next?" Cervantes asked in a monotone voice, his eyes nearly as bright as Ryder's.

"You and Calvin get to the aft docking hatch; they'll be sending down the bell to check on us soon. Bring the bell pilot to me for Inclusion," the Overlord ordered through Ryder.

Cervantes and Calvin both nodded and turned to carry out their order as Harry moaned on the floor at Ryder's feet.

Ryder crouched beside him, turning his head to face him.

"Nelson," he called without remorse for the obvious pain the admiral was experiencing.

"No... Get out of my head," Harry pleaded in pain.

"Take him back to his quarters," Ryder ordered. "He's fighting the Inclusion; we may need to intervene to complete the demotion."

Carter and the other crewmen nodded their reply and picked Harry up by the shoulders and legs, returning him to his quarters and leaving him on his bunk with pain etched sharply in the lines of his face. They left him to the inward struggle as Harry was physically unable to move. They returned later, lending their wills for the demotion. He fought vigorously until he felt the last of his will stripped away; then with his last conscious effort, muttered an airy call for help in one word.

"Lee..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Captain Crane to the radio shack."

Lee tossed the pencil on the chart table and headed aft.

"What do you have, Sparks?"

"A Priority One call from Deep Sea 1, Sir."

Lee's brow crinkled as he reached for the handset to take the call privately and nodded for Sparks to connect him.

"This is Captain Crane, go ahead Deep Sea 1."

"Captain Crane, Captain Scott here."

"I read you Captain Scott, go ahead."

"We've got a situation here," Scott started as Lee listened intently. "We've lost contact with the Sea Turtle. We sent down the bell with a pilot after exhausting all other efforts; he reported a good dock and that was the last we heard from him. Now even if the Turtle's radio is out, the bell's was operating just fine."

"I don't like the sound of that," Lee replied. "What about life support?"

"All umbilicals are in place and functional; our equipment reads normal oxygen consumption and the filtering system is working properly. Environmentals check out A-OK, but our equipment shows they've adjusted the temperatures down to 52 degrees. And there's something else," he added as Lee's eyes narrowed in concern. "Power consumption is very low; they're not doing any work down there and it looks like they're conserving power."

"How so?"

Lee heard a slight scoff on the other end. "It appears they've turned off most of their lights. We can see no reason for conserving power; all indications are that the Sea Turtle is fully functional, with the exception of the radio. To top it off, we can't even raise her from the bottom without the Main Control being switched to Override so we can operate her from here."

"Do you have any other rescue assets available?"

"Negative, but we understand you have a vessel that can be here in four hours?" Scott replied hopefully.

"Aye, but we're still two hours from port," Lee said raising his wrist to check the time. "I can shave about a half-hour off that," he said thinking through his plan out loud. "I'll launch FS1 as soon I hit the dock."

"Very well, I'm just glad this mystery machine of yours is for real. Whatever's going on down there, it can't be good."

"I agree. Keep me apprised of any changes, Captain Scott."

"You've got it Captain Crane."

Lee hung up and paused for only a second then moved with purpose back to the chart table, issuing orders as he walked.

"Mr. Morton, emergency flank."

"Emergency flank, Aye."

Engineering responded as Chip leaned closer to Lee.

"What's going on, Lee?"

"Something's wrong with the Sea Turtle," he explained as the first officer's face instantly reflected his concern. "They've lost all radio contact; their environmentals are set at a crazy 52 degrees and they've cut power as if they're conserving from some sort of catastrophic event, but all indications top-side say everything is in working order."

"Have they conducted a rescue operation?"

"They sent down the bell with a pilot aboard. He reported a good dock and that was the last they heard from him."

Lee reached for the sea chart he wanted and tapped his pencil over the coordinates in thought.

"Chip, keep us on track; I'm going to make a call to get FS1 readied for launch."

"Aye, aye, Sir," he replied, offering Lee the confidence he needed to know things would be taken care of so he could make the necessary arrangements.

VTTBOTS

With flank speed engaged, Lee was able to shave off the half-hour he promised. Unfortunately, there was no rushing navigating the underwater sub pen's corridor. It was tricky and designed so to keep the technical sea wonder safe from prying eyes and espionage.

Chip took care of the final details of docking as Lee waited on deck for the special sea detail to put the gangplank in place. No sooner was it secured than Lee ran across and headed straight for the yellow submersible bobbing about twenty feet down the dock.

"She's all prepped and ready to go," the dockhand advised.

"Very well," Lee replied, climbing the outer ladder and descending down the open hatch. He secured the hatch behind him and attached the radio mic around his neck.

"All clear?"

"All clear, Skipper."

"Release moorings."

"Moorings released. She's good to go, Sir."

"Very well," he replied, then motored FS1 from the dock, dove her to the appropriate depth and started down the same corridor he had just brought Seaview through. Once past the break waters, he cleared the air space and took to the sky, engaging supersonic speed as soon as he hit the two mile marker.

VTTBOTS

Lee pushed FS1 to her maxium operating speed of Mach 2 remaining diligent to fly safely, while shaving off as much time as possible. He climbed to favorable winds and managed to shave off twenty minutes before descending for the air to sea conversion.

"This is FS1 calling Deep Sea 1. Come in Deep Sea 1."

"Deep Sea 1 here. Good to hear your voice Captain."

"Thank you, Captain. My ETA is twenty minutes; any word from below?"

"Nothing, now about docking," Captain Scott advised. "The bell is docked at the aft hatch, you'll have to utilize the secondary hatch on the starboard side; all indicators say she's tight and dry."

"Very well Captain Scott, I'll keep you apprised. I don't know what I'm going to find down there, so I'm locking out FS1 after docking. I'll check out the situation and monitor the Main Controls, if they switch to Override then bring us up, even if you don't hear from me."

"You've got it, and Captain Crane... good luck."

"Aye. I've got visual up ahead. Stand-by for docking."

Lee noted the bell at the aft hatch and maneuvered FS1 starboard, positioning the submersible over the secondary hatch and gently setting down, utilizing the outboard cameras for a clean dock. He scanned his indicator lights and reached for his mic.

"I've got a solid dock. I'll let you know what I find. Crane out."

VTTBOTS

Lee stood at the aft storage cabinet making a quick decision whether to arm himself. This wasn't an ONI Mission, nor was it a military operation but he decided to err on the side of caution and attached the army green hip holster around his waist. He checked the clip then slid his sidearm into the holster. He moved to the hatch and listened below; no one had come to meet him. He hadn't announced his arrival, but he was still surprised that a crew member hadn't noticed the slight shudder that would have accompanied even the best of submersible dockings. He turned the wheel and raised the hatch, then lowered himself to open the second hatch, leading directly into the Sea Turtle. The mating was clean and the hatch opened easily as Lee dropped down, taking a quick look through the dark corridors. Then he sealed FS1's hatch behind him and entered the security code on the key pad to lock out the vessel to anyone but him and the Admiral.

The first thing that hit him as he climbed down to the deck was the flow of cool air that the air system was circulating throughout the Turtle. He had his torch handy, prepared for the lack of light and started forward.

"Hello," he called to the darkness, not knowing if it was a good idea to announce his arrival, but if they were injured and needed help it was the fastest way to find the Turtle's crew.

"Admiral... Dr. Ryder..." he called moving slowly through the cold eerie darkness. The hums of the otherwise silent mining survey station played like quiet background music; declaring a fully operational and working vessel. He played his torch beam across the bulkhead until he found what he was looking for, then walked over and turned the corridor light on. He blinked in the brightness and shook his head. That answered that question; the lights were functional but turned off... but why?

"Admiral Nelson," he called, turning off his torch in the now lit corridor and walking toward the control room. He was half-way down the corridor when the light suddenly switched off and he heard scuffling across the deck behind him. He turned sharply, reaching for his torch but just before he could switch it on, he caught the yellow glowing eyes of something at the end of the corridor. He switched on the torch but whatever he saw had disappeared down an adjacent corridor.

"Wait! Come back," he reasoned, not knowing who or what he was chasing. The height of the glowing eyes suggested he was following a man, though he didn't have the glowing orbs figured out.

Lee followed with his torch lighting the way and turned down the same passageway, only to find an empty corridor in front of him. He backtracked deciding that this mystery was getting more and more bizarre by the moment. He had no idea what mining equipment was out and about and needed to be stowed; if he acted irresponsibly he could set back the mining company by tens of thousands of dollars if a rover was damaged by an inappropriate emergency blow. He was determined to find out more before hitting the panic button. The Sea Turtle had a crew of eight men, plus Admiral Nelson. They were here some place; he needed to find them to see for himself just what he was dealing with.

He'd only been on the Turtle the one time, but he had a knack for remembering details, as Lee moved toward the center of the vessel coming upon the moon pool first. By the looks of things, the crew just stopped working as the two rovers were in their racks but not battened down. He found another light switch and started for it when he heard a noise and then a voice.

"Lee."

He turned sharply. "Admiral, is that you?" He scanned the darkness with his torch but didn't see Harry.

"Light... hurts."

Lee turned again to the voice he'd know anywhere and lowered his light. Off to the side he saw a figure in the darkness, standing just where the corridor opened up to the dive room.

"The light hurts your eyes?" he asked, noting the same glowing eyes he'd seen earlier, though he knew by the height it had been another crewman.

"Too many, Lee... go," he whispered in a plea.

"Not without you, Sir," Lee said taking a step toward him.

"No Lee," Harry said, just as more pairs of glowing eyes appeared behind him.

Lee stopped his advance at the sight of four sets of neon yellow eyes glowing eerily in the darkness.

"Let me help you," Lee said as the group took a step toward him. "I can help you all," he offered stepping back as they advanced again.

Then he noticed Harry's eyes, the glowing intensified three-fold as Lee recognized the flanking move about to be made on him. Quickly, he raised the torch as Harry and the three Turtle crewmen all shielded their eyes from the sudden light. He used that opportunity to run, turning off his light and blinking as his eyes adjusted while retreating to find a place to evade his pursuers long enough to consider his next move.

VTTBOTS

Lee rounded a corner and sunk his back against the wall, calming his breathing to listen for pursuing footsteps behind him. He rubbed his hand across his mouth then rested his head against the wall; sure he had given them the slip. Slowly he lowered himself down the wall to consider what he had just seen.

When he shined his light he could clearly see Harry and three other crewmen. All their eyes were affected in the same way and seemed to move rather clumsily. They had the advantage of knowing the Sea Turtle, and yet he had managed to evade them. As impossible as it seemed, he could only conclude that Harry and the others had been... Lee thought for a moment at how ridiculous it sounded before finishing his thought... Harry and the others had somehow been taken over by some force; just what he didn't know. The fact that whatever was controlling them was sensitive to light and clearly preferred the cold suggested that the force most probably came from the sea. Somehow that made sense. Perhaps something they brought aboard, either purposely or even inadvertently, but after being chased and damn near eaten by a man-eating plankton, he wasn't nearly as ready to rule out the crazy idea as he might have been a year ago.

He heard shuffling and decided he needed to move on. So far he had verified four of the nine men aboard had been infected, and wondered if the others were in hiding or if they had suffered the same fate. He decided the best course of action was to reach the control room and switch the Main Controls to Override; he'd seen enough to know he needed help.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Lee worked his way past the corridor and turned his torch back on; he wasn't familiar enough with the vessel to negotiate it in the dark so he'd just have to take his chances with the light. He thought back through his tour nine days ago and decided which way he needed to go, working his way forward until his light found three more men. He recognized Cervantes the rover pilot, and regretfully saw the same glow in his eyes. More and more, it was looking like the entire crew had been affected by some unknown force.

"You can't run," Cervantes said menacingly, moving toward Lee as the other two crewmen moved in.

"Cervantes, you're sick," he said, lowering his light in a purposeful non-threatening move. "All of you are sick, I can help you," he continued trying to reason with them and making a decision not to draw his weapon. They had so far caused him no harm, though his gut instinct told him that getting caught would be a grave mistake.

Lee took a step back, he wasn't in a position to run and it looked like by their continued advance that he was going to have to fight his way out of this one after all.

"It's time for you to join the Colony," Cervantes declared.

"I don't think so," he replied and readied to defend himself. They took another step toward him when the corridor lights suddenly went on and another player appeared from the flank, diving for the men and shouting as he did so.

"Run Crane!"

His rescuer issued a flying tackle, taking down Cervantes and the other two men, then got up and ran toward Lee.

"This way," he directed as the men behind him floundered in the sudden light.

He guided Lee through the Turtle, until they reached a maintenance room with a hatch.

"In here," he guided as Lee followed, happy to have an ally.

Once in, he shoved a crow bar into the wheel as the two men breathed heavily from their narrow escape.

"Who are you?" Lee asked, noting this man wore a dark blue jump suit, while the Turtle crew wore gray suits with red stripes running down the legs.

"My name is Shawn Anderson, I piloted down the bell."

Lee nodded, silently realizing he had missed a man on his mental count.

"Do you know what happened here?" Lee asked, hoping for some serious answers.

"I don't know for sure, they grabbed me as soon as I hit the deck and took me to Dr. Ryder, only he had these strange glowing eyes. The other guy's eyes were glowing but Ryder's were the brightest; they seemed to be concentrating on Admiral Nelson."

"What do you mean?" Lee asked, leaning forward in concern.

"I don't know; he was on a cot in obvious pain tossing his head back and forth, and they surrounded him like they were collectively trying to break him. They called it a Rapid Demotion, whatever that means. Anyway, when they were done his eyes were glowing just a brightly as theirs."

"How did you break free?" Lee asked, realizing that Shawn had probably spent the last two days hiding out.

"I don't know."

Lee raised an eyebrow in an unspoken question.

"I guess I blacked out, I just woke up alone and high tailed it to a safe place. I heard you when you docked and figured the cavalry had come. I was sort of hoping there would be more cavalry," he joked.

"Yeah, I sort of wish I'd brought more along myself," he said tilting his head back against a pipe behind him and reminding himself why he hadn't. He didn't know if he was going to be conducting a rescue operation to the surface and wanted as much room as possible in the flying sub.

"So what now?" Anderson asked, hoping Lee had a plan.

"I need to get to the control room, once I reset the main controls to Override Captain Scott will automatically raise the Sea Turtle."

"Then what you need is a diversion?"

Lee nodded, but he didn't like the idea.

"Yeah that would be best, but I'm not willing to sacrifice you either," he replied trying to think of another plan.

"It doesn't matter about me," he answered mysteriously. "They already did something to me."

Lee leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

Shawn rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth and then continued.

"Ryder grabbed my hand and before I knew it, my finger nails were glowing. I felt them enter my body, I nearly panicked and then... then I woke up by myself."

"They're trying to take control you over, just like they have the others?"

"They're leaving me alone because they know I'll eventually be like them," Anderson replied resigned to his fate.

"Then let's do this now, before they have a chance to complete their plans for you," Lee said resolutely as he stood.

"Alright," he answered with a tinge of hope returning. "We'll head to the control room; once they spot us I'll lead them away."

"Just get away and lock yourself back up here," Lee advised. "I'll do the rest."

"Alright Captain."

"Just Lee," he replied. "We're in this together," Lee promised as Shawn smiled wearily.

"Alright Lee, let's get it done."

VTTBOTS

Lee and Shawn headed forward; they nearly made it all the way when three sets of glowing eyes blocked their path.

"Be careful," Lee whispered.

"You just get us off the bottom," Shawn returned before grabbing Lee's flashlight and running at full speed toward the Turtle's crewmen. He shined the light in their eyes to temporarily blind them as Lee took his opportunity to skirt around them. He took a quick look over his shoulder as Shawn bowled into them sending everyone sprawling to the deck, but when he tried to get up to make his escape he suddenly collapsed, grabbing for his head in pain. Two Turtle crewmen seemed to focus their attention upon him as if participating somehow in his pain.

"They're in my head!" Shawn yelled as he rolled on the deck in pain.

Lee turned toward him when the third crewman, Cervantes, started to advance on him. He had no choice but to stay with the plan, as Lee used his advantage of speed and agility to make it the rest of the way to the control room. As with the others, Cervantes moved slow and clumsily, even though he was young and fit, as if whatever was controlling them hadn't quite got the hang of dealing with their motor skills yet.

He resolved to make it to the control room and not waste Shawn's sacrifice, as he peered around the corner looking for glowing eyes. Upon seeing the way clear he moved forward, until he reached his destination, locking the door behind him. Lee turned on the light and worked himself around the controls until he found the one he needed, but just as he was about to switch the control to Override, he heard a loud banging on the door. It appeared he'd been found. There was no way out at this point, so he switched the controls to Override, knowing that once the mother ship started the surfacing sequence there would be no turning back... no matter who broke through the door.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Greetings Readers: Fanfiction is currently experiencing a glitch in reviews. I can see them from my account, but they aren't showing on the Review Board. Hopefully this will be fixed soon. In the meanwhile, thanks for your support! Subjockey**

 **Chapter Eight**

Lee watched the lights of the control board as Captain Scott's men operated the Sea Turtle topside. The loud banging at the door intensified as it was apparent they were now switching tactics; no longer were they body slamming the door but were now employing objects, probably chairs. He wasn't sure how long the door would last and was extremely grateful when he heard the compressors engage to blow the ballast tanks. The activity ratcheted up from behind the door when the Sea Turtle groaned slightly as she rose from the sea bed.

He blew a breath of relief as the rise to the surface began; his relief was tempered however, by the fact that the ascent would be slowed by decompression stops. The Sea Turtle was a complete pressurized vessel just like a submarine, and as such didn't require decompression to surface. However, it was unknown whether any of the Turtle's certified deep sea divers had ventured out into the deep with special gas mixture tanks and pressure suits. For the sake of that possibility, two decompression stops would be scheduled along with the slow ascent.

As the ascent began, Lee turned to the environmental controls and reprogrammed the vessel to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Next he turned to the master controls for the interior lighting, forcing the lights on throughout the Sea Turtle.

The banging on the door slowed in reaction to the sudden light, as well as the vents now blowing hot air to raise the temperatures.

"Lee! What have you done?" he heard from the other side of the door as the banging stopped to give way to Harry's voice.

"We're going to the top, Admiral. We're going to get all of you the help you need."

"No Lee," he said almost frantically. "You don't know what you're doing, you'll kill us all!"

Lee rubbed his hand across his forehead, considering Harry's last statement and walked closer to the door.

"It's the only way Admiral. We can help you on top," he replied through the door.

The noises from the other side suddenly changed drastically, as the Turtle's crew began screaming and sobbing, while a few even threw objects across the room. Lee hadn't been aboard to see the erratic behavior of the tiger shark and had no idea what was going on, but one voice transcended above all the others as he heard the pitiful sobs of Admiral Nelson; the same sobs he'd heard when he had the allergic reaction to Cortisone, temporarily losing touch with reality and necessitating Lee's mutiny to the save the boat.*

It was heart-wrenching, as Lee leaned against the door and felt Harry slide down the other side.

Lee followed him down from the safety of the control room and spoke calmly.

"Admiral, please listen to me. Whatever has happened to you, it's going to be alright," he said, closing his eyes as all he heard were the sobs of a man out of control. Watching Harry suffer a meltdown in front of Admiral Stark had been tough enough, but _then_ he had a boat to save as he called Doc to take Harry to sickbay. Then he did what he always did; ignored both his emotions and the danger, while acting for the safety of his boat and crew… but this was different. He didn't have a boat to run, or Doc Jamieson here to care for Harry; this time all he could do was wait and listen to the sounds of a man who needed his best friend.

Damn it!

Here he was with the door separating them, as Lee considered the sounds coming from the other side; he could hear Harry quieting as the others seemed to thin out from the area. As much as he wanted to be there for the Admiral, Lee knew that he had to stay well and unaffected. Both escape hatches were currently blocked, with a locked out FS1 on the starboard side and the bell still mated on the aft hatch. While it was possible to open the bell's hatch from the outside, he wasn't sure that it hadn't been dogged with a wrench or crowbar. He didn't want to take a chance on the extra time it would take to burn through the hatch with an acetylene torch.

Lee leaned his head against the door, knowing Harry was still on the other side, just as the Sea Turtle's ascent halted for the first of two decompression stops.

"Admiral? Can you hear me?"

There was a slight silence before he heard Harry speak, his sobs were gone but his voice was uncharacteristically rough.

"Why are you doing this, Lee?" he asked.

Lee heard Harry's voice, but wondered if it was the Admiral talking or whatever had taken him over.

"You're sick, Sir. I don't know what's wrong or what's infected you, but you need help," he answered calmly.

"You're going to kill us, Lee. We belong down below," Harry replied, sounding very logical at this point.

"No Admiral. Whatever's inside you may belong below, but that's not your home."

"I'm part of them now Lee; if you kill them, you kill me," Harry replied, his voice sounding much weaker and leaning heavily against his side of the door.

Lee was silent for a moment, hoping with everything in him he was right. He swallowed then answered; dropping every bit of decorum he'd been in the habit of using with Admiral Nelson and choosing to speak to his best friend instead.

"Harry... do you remember what you told me after the Arctic mission?"

Lee could hear labored breaths from the other side as the Sea Turtle began its ascent once again.

"You said Seaview still had work to do, that we still have work to do," Lee continued.

"I remember," Harry replied, barely loud enough to hear. Lee lowered his head, contemplating whether the ascent was having an effect on whatever had taken the Admiral over; the pressing and unknown question was just how would it affect Harry and the others?

Just then Lee heard a blood curdling scream in the distance from one of the other crewman.

"What's happening Sir?" he asked reaching for the door knob, but thinking better of it.

"The Colony is struggling..." he answered vaguely.

Another scream interrupted their conversation, while Lee silently questioned whether it was a trick to lure him outside the safety of the control room.

"Oh no! God no! Lee..." Harry called in clear distress.

"Admiral!" Lee answered and then heard Harry's own distressing scream accompanied with the sound of a body sliding completely down the door.

"Harry!" he called again, only to be met with silence as he seriously considered whether the "Colony" was dying and taking their human hosts with them.

"Harry!" he called urgently, standing with his hand on the door knob.

Damn it all to hell! Harry was not going to die with a door separating them, he thought, swinging the door open despite the danger of being taken over himself.

Several other Turtle crewmen were sprawled across the deck, as Lee dropped to his knees beside the Admiral and reached for his face, cupping his jaw in his hand.

"Harry," he called, noting the rise and fall of the Admiral's chest, along with ragged breaths and just as ragged moans.

"Oh God, please no," he prayed. The pain of losing his own father was buried long ago in the memories of a four year old boy; but the thought of losing Harry now brought back all the pain of those hidden memories as if it were yesterday.

Harry groaned again rocking his head from side to side, as if struggling to wake.

"Harry?" Lee called once more, this time he was rewarded with blinking eyes as Harry labored to wake.

"Lee?" he answered, the Admiral's eyes finally opening to reveal the deep blue eyes of Harriman Nelson; gone were the eerie neon yellow glowing orbs as Lee nearly laughed in joy, but instead swallowed his chuckle back to answer.

"I'm here, Admiral. Are you alright, Sir?" he asked, retreating back to decorum.

"I... I think so," he answered.

"Is it gone, Sir?" Lee asked cautiously.

"They're gone," Harry answered, smiling thinly and relishing the blessing of silence in his head, as all the other voices and wills were finally gone. "The others?" he inquired, swallowing hard.

"I'll check on them. Just rest, Sir," Lee said as he felt the Sea Turtle stop again for its second decompression stop.

"I'm not going anywhere," Harry assured with a pat to Lee's arm; one that sent renewed hope to the young man.

Lee moved to the nearest man and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Cervantes, are you okay?"

His question was met with a nod and a moan, as he opened his brown eyes to meet Lee's. "Let's not do that again," he said jokingly, pinching his eyes together, obviously still recovering from the ordeal.

Lee smiled and moved to next man.

"Shawn," he called, hoping the young man who had sacrificed himself to offer him the diversion he needed was going to be alright as well. "It's me, Lee."

"Did we win?" he asked, barely opening his eyes in small slits as Lee hung his head in gratefulness.

"Yeah... I think we did," he answered with a sigh. "You two just rest till you feel stronger."

He checked the other two men in the room, finding all of them in various stages of recovery and moved back to Harry who by now, was trying to sit up against the door.

"They seem to be doing alright, Sir," Lee reported as they both felt the Sea Turtle begin its ascent once again.

Lee looked around at the five men trying to sit up, and realized that he had half of the Turtle's crew yet unaccounted for, but assumed they were all in much the same condition.

"Sir, I have to get to the aft hatch and make sure the bell isn't dogged."

Harry nodded, "I'll go with you."

"I really think you ought to rest Sir..." he started but saw the fiery eyed admiral he had sparred with on several prior occasions had returned in full force. "Never mind," he conceded happily as he helped Harry rise on shaky feet. "Just lean on me, Sir," he suggested as Harry wisely accepted his aid.

"We'll be back soon, men," Lee advised the crew. "I just want to make sure that we can be boarded once we broach the surface."

The men all acknowledged, content to let Lee take care of things as they struggled to fully grasp what had happened to them.

Lee and Harry moved aft, finding a few more men along the way, both recovering and talking quietly amongst themselves. They turned another corner and stopped in their tracks as Ryder stood blocking their way, his eyes glowing with the intensity of all the recalled Colony members.

He breathed heavily, his face full of the rage of a mad man as Joshua Ryder hosted the _entire_ Colony in his being.

"I've been waiting for you, Crane," he said in a husky, unnatural voice as the intensity of the glow in his eyes pierced evilly Lee's way.

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 **A/N - Thanks to all who have Read, Reviewed, Followed, and Favorited the story; especially to the Guest Reviewers whom I can't thank with a PM. Just one more chapter to go folks!**

*VTTBOTS S01E18, _Mutiny_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N - Thanks to all of you who reviewed chapters 8 and 9, Fanfiction is still exhibiting a glitch; I can see your reviews but they're not showing yet on the Review Board. Should be fixed soon and all your reviews should be visible then, in the meanwhile THANK YOU for your support. Subjockey**

 **A/N - Glitch fixed, all Reviews are current. Thanks for sticking with me for another Voyage. Subjockey**

 **.**

 **Chapter Nine**

" _I've been waiting for you, Crane," he said in a husky, unnatural voice as the intensity of the glow in his eyes pierced evilly Lee's way._

"It's over Ryder," Harry spoke up, standing on his own and no longer leaning on Lee. "Or should I say... Overlord?" he corrected himself, knowing first-hand the Colony's social system.

"Overlord?" Lee asked.

"When the Colony's existence is imminently threatened it Reconvenes into one host to do battle," Harry explained. "That's why they abandoned me and the others."

"Then the Overlords are like Generals?" Lee surmised, still not having a full picture of what happened, while Ryder seemed intently interested in Lee, studying his every move as the color of his face took on an unhealthy paleness.

"More like dictators, their orders are irrefutable," Harry explained.

"Enough!" Ryder shouted. "The creature Crane has injured the Colony; he must be punished!" he said taking a shaky step forward.

"Careful Lee, they can't be reasoned with," Harry cautioned. "They're not intelligent as we understand it; they're no more than an underwater version of the carpenter ant. They simply act and react based on their natural instincts. Joshua is speaking based on the instinct and will of the Overlords, they understand life only within their own paradigm of existence," Harry explained as Lee nodded his understanding.

"Don't come any closer Dr. Ryder," Lee ordered, pulling out his Beretta M9 and training it on Ryder.

The doctor stepped forward again; his movements indicating an un-well host, as Lee slid the action back, pulling a round into the chamber.

"I don't want to hurt you, Ryder," he cautioned.

"The Colony is dying," Ryder said. "It seeks only one thing now... you," he said, his glowing eyes losing some intensity as members of the Colony expired within him. His face twitched, as if in response to the diminishing Colony and moved forward again, this time extending a hand toward Lee.

Lee blinked as a high pitched buzzing noise reached his head in agonizing waves. Ryder wasn't close enough to initiate an Inclusion, but instead emitted a disturbing ultrasonic sound designed to immobilize its natural enemies in the depths.

Lee grunted at the pain, raising one hand to his head while keeping the gun trained on Ryder, who was advancing slowly with his hand still extended, focusing intently on Lee and putting all the Colony's effort into their last act; the death of their adversary… the creature Crane.

"Lee!" Harry yelled as Lee regathered himself, working through the high pitched sound directed only at him, and too high to be heard as it was above the frequencies of audible sound. He placed both hands on his Berretta and steadied himself ensuring a sure aim, even as the pain increased etching sharp lines on his crinkled brow.

"Ryder!" Lee warned, but he knew he had no choice. He squinted through pained eyes and fired a well-placed bullet high on his right shoulder, as Joshua screamed in pain and fell to one knee.

Lee stumbled then steadied himself, the injury stopping both Ryder's advance and the Colony's attack as he rubbed his temples, blinking with the release of the ultrasonic sound.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked with a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Sir," he replied as the ultrasonic frequency left no ill effects other than a slight headache once it ceased.

Lee started to move forward to help the doctor when Harry stopped him.

"No Lee, you can't let him touch you."

"I understand," Lee said, handing the gun over to Harry as the Sea Turtle broached the surface of Deep Sea 1's large moon pool where it was berthed. "Watch him Sir; I'm going to open the bell hatch," Lee said, just as Ryder fell completely to the deck in pain.

Lee ran for the aft hatch, hearing Ryder's blood curdling scream reverberating through the metal bulkhead. He continued on, undaunted by what was happening behind him as the Colony exhibited their final throes of death in poor Joshua Ryder's body.

He climbed the ladder in time to hear clanging outside of the bell. The mating hatch had been left open as he climbed straight into the bell to find a crowbar jammed into the vertical hatch, just as he suspected. The clanging continued as Lee banged on the hatch to inform their rescuers that he was there and undogged the wheel. He turned the wheel as the Deep Sea crew finished the job from their side and opened the hatch.

"You sure are a sight for sore eyes," Lee greeted with a weary smile.

"What happened down there?" Captain Scott asked, following Lee back into the bell.

"I don't know everything yet, and I don't know how to explain it, other than they encountered an unknown sea life that somehow took over their bodies."

Scott scowled at Lee's explanation.

"I know, I didn't want to believe it myself," he said starting down the ladder. "The crew is recovering, but Dr. Ryder is injured. He can't be touched, not until the sea creature is dead."

"Very well, Captain Crane," Scott agreed, accepting Lee's assessment and eager to check on the crew below. "Show us the way."

VTTBOTS

Lee guided Scott and the rescue detail to Ryder and Harry, by that time the rest of the crew had made their way aft, having felt the Sea Turtle dock.

Captain Scott watched incredulously as Ryder's eyes glowed eerily.

"Keep your distance men," Scott ordered, having now seen for himself the strange manifestation in the doctor.

"Admiral," Lee said moving to his side. "Is it ethical to let the Colony die here? What if they're the last of their kind?"

Harry handed over the gun, which Lee replaced in his holster.

"I'm afraid we have no choice, Lee. They're like a bear or wolf who has tasted human blood, they can't be trusted not to seek out the human host again."

"But are they the last of their kind?" he persisted.

"No," Harry replied, his knowledge gained first hand from having been part of the Colony. Meanwhile, the rescuers tended to the crew, while Ryder moaned again as his glowing eyes lost more intensity.

"They're a creature from the lower depths that rose to the ocean floor through volcanic activity. They weren't the last of their kind when they left their home; it's safe to assume the other Colonies are thriving where they belong... in the lowest depths under the sea," Harry finished.

Lee noted Harry's weariness. "Admiral, let's get you top-side so the med team can check you out."

"Not yet, Lee," Harry answered. "I want to make sure Joshua is alright first. He was the first to be infected and has borne the worst of the Colony's invasion."

Lee nodded, understanding the admiral's loyalty to his friend.

Joshua's breath rattled as he rocked his head toward Harry while two rescuers carefully placed a blanket over him, careful to stay out of reach.

"How are you, Joshua?" Harry asked, knowing that as the Colony died, more of his will would be surrendered back.

"Still too many..." he breathed out.

"I'll stay with you," Harry promised. "You won't be alone."

"Just what happened here?" Captain Scott asked rubbing his neck in confusion and only having bits and pieces of the puzzle so far.

"The Survey inadvertently came in contact with the Colony, they have no other name for themselves," Harry explained. "But they are very much like the carpenter ant or even the honey bee. They operate within very specific social classes, with a ruling class; subsequent officer classes; and varying degrees of a working class, which are nothing more than slaves. They exist for the betterment of the community and have no other goal but the basic functions of life; to gather food and procreate. They aren't intelligent beings, but once they tapped into the brain cells of our men, were able to manipulate their hosts to communicate their wills."

"Bizarre," Scott replied. "What's killing them off, the change in pressure?"

"Only partially; they have the ability to adapt to varying degrees of pressure which is why they were able to leave their own depths, perhaps tens of thousands of feet below and survive at 1,500 feet. When Captain Crane changed the environmental controls and increased the heat it weakened them; but even that isn't what's killing them off," Harry said shaking his head. "The real damage was done when Lee turned all the lights on to full power. You see the Sea Turtle's lighting system offers a low dose of ultraviolet rays."

"To simulate the sun," Scott interjected, knowing full well the Turtle's functions.

"Yes, and to help the miners battle vitamin D deficiency as well as low mood swings associated with lack of sunlight. In short, they're being poisoned by the effects of the sun."

"It's good to know they can't survive top-side," Lee said bringing Harry a chair to sit on, as a rescuer wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. Harry started to protest, but realized the rescuers were only doing their jobs, besides... he was still cold despite the now warm vessel.

"But how can we know we won't encounter them again down below?" Lee added.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "It was a one and a million chance for them to make it up this far, and now we know what to look for," he added referring to their luminescence which acted as bait.

"They're gone," Ryder announced with a heavy sigh, his eyes having now returned to their normal light gray color.

The medical team descended on him to care for his bullet wound as Harry moved closer to offer his support.

"Welcome back, Joshua," he said as Lee watched from behind.

Welcome back, Harry, Lee said silently and breathed a prayer of thanks that Admiral Nelson was safe.

"Let's get you top-side, Sir," he said in a soft order which Harry didn't miss, but chose to ignore as he saw the relief in his young captain's eyes.

Harry huffed a sigh and then nodded, allowing Lee to guide him to the hatch as rescuers prepared Joshua's stretcher. He shed his blanket and climbed the ladder remembering with clarity their conversation with the door between them. Harry smiled as he thought of Lee's devotion and the ease at which he had called him by name, then tucked the whole event deep down in the secret place a father keeps his most treasured memories.

VTTBOTS

Harry was the first one to step outside the bell and blinked at the brightness of the sun. He soaked in the warmth against his face, even as the ocean breeze brushed his hair gently across his forehead. He scanned the docked Sea Turtle, turning to starboard and spying the Flying Sub still docked on the starboard hatch, having taken the ride up effortlessly on her perch.

Lee was next to clear the bell, stopping to breathe in deeply the fresh sea air.

"How did she do?" Harry asked pointing toward FS1.

"She flew like a dream... just like she was designed to do," Lee offered with a wide grin, pleased for the happy outcome of the bizarre mission that had nearly turned disastrous for both Harry and the Turtle's crew.

"Did you take her through the paces?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, already knowing Lee's penchant for speed.

"Let's just say that my Baby did me proud," he replied with a satisfied grin.

"Your baby?" Harry replied with false indignity, as Lee responded with a hearty laugh, not missing the humor in his best friend's eyes.

"Don't worry, Admiral," he said guiding Harry toward the ship's sickbay. "She'll always be your Brain-Child, even if she is my Baby."

They laughed warmly as Harry considered the depths that Lee had gone to come to his aid, while replaying those same words Lee had quoted him from behind the door.

"Seaview still has work to do... We still have work to do."

Harry smiled at the second part of the statement as Lee had added that thought to his original words, and noted just how true it was; for there wasn't anyone else he wanted more to stand at Seaview's helm than the young man standing beside him now.

"Very well Captain Crane. Let's get this visit to First Aid over with so you can show me just how well your Baby flies," Harry jested with a warm hand to his shoulder as the two walked; their solidarity bonded in the life and death struggle below, and both silently enjoying the powerful moment of their deep friendship in the light of the day above.

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 **The End**


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